'I would not have Karthik in the World Cup Squad' - Gambhir shuts Dinesh Karthik's WC chances

Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir opines that Dinesh Karthik will be missing out on selection for the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.

During the Indian innings in the second T20I between India and South Africa, Axar Patel was promoted ahead of Dinesh Karthik, a move which didn't really work and received flak from the fans as well as from cricket pundits around the globe.

Dinesh Karthik, who has given an India comeback for his finishing touches, arrived at No. 7 with five overs left and helped the Men in Blue overcome a slow start with an unbeaten 30 off 21, but in a losing cause. 

Speaking on Star Sports about DK's knock and Axar's promotion, Gambhir said Karthik's knock was very valuable but he was left surprised with Axar's promotion in the batting order.

“It was very valuable (DK's knock), he has been doing that for the last 2-3 months for RCB. But, I was a bit amazed that Axar (Patel) came ahead of Dinesh Karthik. I would’ve been more happy if he had come ahead of Axar,” Gambhir said.

When he was asked about Karthik's chances of travelling to Australia for the T20 World Cup, the Lucknow mentor said it'll be too difficult to fix in the keeper-batter in the playing eleven once Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Suryakumar Yadav return to the side.

“Too early to say. T20 World Cup is far ahead. He needs to consistently perform till then. But if he wants to bat only in the last three overs, things could get tough. India will definitely be looking at someone in the top 7 who can bowl.”

“I would not have him (Karthik) in the World Cup Squad. I would definitely have people like Rishabh Pant, and Deepak Hooda (in the team). If he doesn’t have a place in the playing XI, there’s no point giving him a place in the squad,” Karthik added.

“Once KL, Rohit, Surya, and Virat are back, I don’t see him in the playing XI. This will be your top 4 and then you’ll have someone like (Deepak) Hooda, (Rishabh) Pant, Hardik (Pandya), and (Ravindra) Jadeja. I will have a younger guy (in place of Karthik) who is a better fielder on those grounds and can probably chip in with a couple of overs as well.”

“Karthik, unfortunately, will have to miss out unless and until the selectors make a huge call and drop one of the top four,” Gambhir concluded.